Students in a summer art class paint a rectangular mural. The shorter side of the mural measures 5 yards. The longer side measures 3 yards longer than the shorter side. How many square yards is the murals area?
Let x be the length of the longer side of the mural.
Since the shorter side measures 5 yards, the longer side measures 5 + 3 = 8 yards.
Therefore, the area of the mural is 5 * 8 = 40 square yards.